stretching adventure with a tent and a mat

Ferry

Baranof Island has receded from my sight but not from my mind. At the ferry terminal several kind friends made the trip to the tip of the island to send me off—complete with snacks, hugs, and even a few tears. My heavy heart was lightened by our silly antics and their teasing of my bulging food sacks. During my stay in Sitka, I could often be found at the water’s edge listening to the waves or marveling at life below the surface. The water always felt healing, a refuge where the expanse seemed endless. Yet, a few hundred miles south from this island, the lower 48 awaited.

On the other side of my apprehension to leave lay the excitement of new adventure: the three day ferry from Sitka to Bellingham, Washington. Known as the poor-man’s cruise along the inner passage, most everyone waiting to board The Columbia—touted as the nicest ferry in the Alaska Marine Highways fleet—carried their own bulging food sacks along with dogs, kayaks, bikes, and more than a few brought tents. While I have not been on one of the big cruise ships, I imagine no one there boards with their own housing arrangements for the deck.

About Camper Yogini

After financing my MFA in Creative Writing on my REI Visa, I amassed enviable points. What else to do with my graduate degree and recreational dividend dollars but buy a tent, a sleeping bag, and a camp stove and set out to criss cross the country. The catch? I was not an experienced camper and remain limited in my knowledge.
In two years time, I have visited and camped in dozens of national parks, state and city parks, as well as my share of Bureau of Land Management sites.
I have grown to appreciate that you never know where the compass may lead, but to be open to choices the path provides. I've fallen in love with Wyoming, been evacuated from the California coast, searched by the boarder patrol in Texas, and found a beautiful community of natural beauty and strong people on an island in Alaska.
I continue to write and interview many along the way and invite you to be a part of the experience--comments and suggestions are always welcomed, as well as my wish for all: May each of us find a path to enjoy on this journey of life.